Insert clever title here...

Do you want to know the most difficult thing about doing this blog? It's coming up with the titles for these blog posts! Finding something witty, amusing, and relevant each week is quite taxing, so this week you get to make up your own title.

Every week when we go to the site, the changes just take our breath away. Sometimes they are huge changes, like the addition of the metal paneling on the outside of the building. Sometimes they are small little discoveries like the really cool lights in the children's area. But they are always amazing to us, and necessitate several minutes of "How cool!" and "Wicked Awesome!"

The grand entryway just seems that much grander with the installation of more of the wood panels in the ceiling, and the beautiful (and huge!) hanging pendants in the entryway. The feature wall behind the staircase will be beautiful, and the coffee area is coming along nicely.

Upstairs, the steel beams have been painted, and the floor is being smoothed out. Wiring continues to be a major job, and will continue until every corner of the building is full of power and data. Meeting Rooms are beginning to take shape, and almost all the interior walls are finished.

It's been a long wait for this to be finished, but we are beginning to see a glimmer of hope that we'll be able to move back home soon. We would like to thank all our awesomely incredibly wonderfully loyal patrons who have supported us through this whole experience with patience, humor, sympathy, and most importantly chocolate!

Theresa

It's getting closer...

When we first started this expansion and remodeling project, it seemed like we would never return home. In December of 2007, we were looking at about an 18 month project, and the future was impossibly hard to see. Now, 15 months later, time seems to have both flown and crawled by. I can't believe we are looking at moving back in July. We all have such mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, we are positively giddy at knowing we shall soon be back in a proper library, with the latest technological (and plumbing!) advances. On the other hand, oh my, is there a lot of work still left to be done!

Staff is very hard at work attempting to pull together all the myriad little details that go into moving a library. You'd think that having done it so successfully in 2007, we'd be able to just reverse the process. However, it's kind of like getting map quest directions. They work if you are going from point a to point b, but trying to follow them from b to a does not work. (Trust me, I once navigated us into a cranberry bog in Canada doing that!)

So, while we are pulling out the last of our hair, and wondering if botox for all our worry wrinkles are covered under our insurance, the hard working crew at the site has been plowing ahead. They are still pulling miles and miles and miles and miles of cable for all our data needs. Painting is going on in the older part of the building, with the newer section slated to start soon.

Cabinet installation is still happening, and we are all excited to see that our staff areas are really taking shape. In the very near future we hope to have the final pour of the stained concrete floor in the entry way. In the new Library Program Room, the huge wide-screen movie screen is installed -- soon to host many family film and foreign film nights.

On the outside of the building, the really cool metal panels are going up. They are made up of recycled materials, and are tongue and grooved to go together very quickly. I wasn't sure about them at first, all I could envision was the glare off of really shiny metal, but they are finished with a matte finish, and look very nice.

Keep an eye out for more information as we get closer to moving back home. We are planning a blowout celebration in (hopefully) early August that will include tons of local performers. We are also working on several really cool programs to present when we get back into our home.

On a personal note --- I would like to congratulate my co-worker and my friend, Lisa Adams, for being the recipient of the 2009 WALE employee of the year. WALE stands for Washington Association of Library Employees, and is an interest group of the Washington Library Association. The WALE employee of the year must demonstrate outstanding service in their field, and significantly contribute to the betterment of the library. Lisa has done this for many years with her innovative programs like the library sleepovers, family film nights, craft shows, ladies night at the library, and so much more. She is always up for any idea, no matter how crazy, and always manages to make us laugh. She's funny, big hearted and as my grandfather would have said "good folk". Congratulations Lisa, you deserve this!

Theresa

Stairway to heaven...

(and yes, I am totally taking the cheap shot with this post's title!)

We have a staircase! Yesterday we walked into the building and the first thing we saw was the new staircase going up to the second floor. I believe the squeals of excitement could be heard from miles away. Then we looked up.

Oh my gosh! We have ceiling going in! The ceiling panels in the two story entrance are beginning to go in as well. They are so beautiful. Some of us had a hard time envisioning a wood ceiling. Was it going to diminish the spacious feeling in the entry way? Would it be too dark? I'm happy to say that it does none of those things, just enhances the beauty that is already there.

In the building proper, most of the drywall is finished. There are still some guys walking around with the stilts, but most of that is done now. Painting is continuing, as is installation of the staff cupboards.

Over in the server room (just saying that sends chills down my spine - the good kind of chills) wire is looped and ready to be attached to our new servers. It's quite a sight to see, and makes one positively giddy. We are also looking forward to using brand new cables and wires to hook up our new computers and servers (R.I.P. the JLET cable company).

Hopefully this cold snap will break soon, so we can start the landscaping of the building. But even with the cold weather, soon you should start to see the final components of the outside facade in place. The metal panels are here and waiting to be installed, and the glass curtain wall in the front of the building will be taking shape very soon.

Thank you to all of our awesome contractors and sub-contractors. Dudes -- you totally rock!

Theresa

Cabinets and cupboards...

Another week has gone past, and there are promising signs that one day we might be moving in. The cupboards and cabinets for the back area (technically known and the "Acquisitions Services Area") have arrived and are mostly installed. While I'm not usually a fan of light gold wood, I have to say that they look very nice, and the light color added to the natural light makes for a very bright and airy feeling.

The parking lot looks like a parking lot and not a cow pasture, so that is a big improvement for us. It also looks much bigger than it was, and should provide ample parking for all our needs.

I have to say I just LOVE the fireplace. I don't know what the surround will look like, but the long low sleek profile of the brushed metal and glass appeals to me on so many levels. I have a feeling that staff will spend a lot of time sitting upstairs in that cozy little nook. As always, the view from above never fails to amaze and inspire.

If the weather cooperates, soon you should see the last of the materials going onto the outside of the building. We are waiting on the metal panels that will compliment the glass and composite concrete that is already out there. The other exciting installation will the be the glass curtain wall that composes the front of the building. I believe that some of those glass sections will be able to be opened, so that in nice weather we will be able to provide a lovely indoor/outdoor space for you to enjoy. It also means that we will be able to get even BIGGER cars inside the building to help celebrate Cool Desert Nights!

It always amazes me that our awesome crew can build such a cool building by deciphering those big pieces of paper with lots of black marks on it. I just don't get how a building can come from those things! I suppose it's a bit like how a musician can get music from notes on a page. There's something similar to the process in fact, both take printed materials that are cold and sterile, and breathe life into them to create something beautiful and inspiring.

Our program room will be a lovely place to hold all our library programs. The glass enclosed space will be bright and sunny for daytime programs, but have the ability to be completely darkened for those movies that everyone loves to watch.

Wiring for data is an ongoing process. We specifically designed the building to be able to meet all our data needs for many years to come. It all looks like spaghetti to me right now, but those skinny little wires will bring the world to our patrons in the form of computers, Internet, and materials you can download yourselves.

In the coming months as we get closer to moving back, be on the watch for information about the Opening Day festivities that we are planning. In the works are some formal dedication activities, some children's and adult programs, and hopefully a blow-out party including local musicians to celebrate our return home. Trust me, we can't WAIT to move back!

Theresa